OSCEOLA — The panel that regulates Iowa gaming facilities will take applications from those seeking a license to operate a facility in Linn County, potentially opening the door to the development of a casino in Iowa’s second-largest city.
But Cedar Rapids will only secure permission from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission if city officials and developers successfully make their case, overcome opposition and assuage concerns that a casino in Cedar Rapids will “cannibalize” the market.
That market includes Waterloo and Riverside, cities within an hour drive that already have casinos. The five-member panel has denied Cedar Rapids a license to operate a casino twice before, in 2014 and 2017, because it considered the market sufficiently served.
But Cedar Rapids believes “the time is now” for a casino. Officials…
